Product Description

The contributors to Five Traits of a Christ-Follower--each with a long history of knowing Jesus and making Him known--see five "core competencies" as critical to authentic discipleship: walking with Jesus, knowing and living the Scriptures, participating in community, engaging with those who don't know Christ, and reproducing spiritual generations. Spend a month with a master class of disciple makers and find yourself growing in your capacity and enthusiasm for following Christ.

Publisher's Description

What distinguishes a follower of Jesus? The contributors to Five Traits of a Christ Followereach with a long history of knowing Jesus and making him knownsee five core competencies as critical to authentic discipleship; growing in relationship with God, knowing and living from the Scriptures, engaging those who dont know Christ, living in community with other believers, and equipping others to follow Christ. Spend a month with a master class of disciple-makers, and find yourself growing in your capacity, and your enthusiasm, for following Christ.

Foreword by Jerry Bridges. Contributors from The Navigators and friends include Jen Hatmaker, Len Sweet, Jane Kirkpatrick, and others.

David stooped down and picked up a handful of stones, smooth to his touch and weighty. The rest of his story tumbles effortlessly into memory: the battle with Goliath, Davids rise to fame in Israel, the finger of God upon his life. In Five Traits of a Christ Follower, Doug Nuenke fills up the metaphor of those five smooth stones with five traits, five areas of growth for the one who believingly follows Jesus. He draws on the experiences and writing of thirty skilled disciple-makers whose platforms range from nurse, teacher, and author to missionary, military personnel, and rap artist! What emerges from the collection is a small discipleship training manual that addresses the true test of our life in Christ: our character.

1. Walking with Jesus involves living in company with Him in such a way that our power and influence is clearly coming from the Vine. Like Martha, it is often my goal to put dinner on the table regardless of whether the goal of her guests was to eat. If my focus is on Jesus rather than on controlling every stray atom my attitude will reveal a love for God that fuels my walk and results in passionate attachment to His kingdom priorities.

2.Knowing and Living the Scriptures involves more than gulping down pre-digested thinking about the Bible. Ancient instructions in Deuteronomy reveal that an intimate knowledge of the Word yields a life-changing awe of God, motivation to obey Gods commands, and an accurate view of self that leads to humility. The truth is that life is not found in knowledge alone, but in God Himself, and a follower of Christ will pursue Him through His Word. One tool in pursuing a deeper knowledge of the Word is BibleGateway, an Internet resource that makes it possible to read, hear, search, study, compare, and share the Bible in 200+ versions and 70+ languages.

3.Participating in Community is much more than a weekly gathering in a building. Community is doing life together, urging one another toward the finish line by speaking words of courage and faith. This requires the risk of vulnerability as we confess our sins to one another and experience the healing that God provides through the Body.

4.Engaging with Those Who Dont Know Christ requires jumping into the neighborhood just as Jesus did when He took on a body and came to Earth. Reflecting Gods glory is a matter of being intentionally positioned to shine among those who are in need, not motivated by superiority, but by love and a desire to engage with people even those with whom we have very little in common. With my mother living in an nursing home, I am granted the unique privilege of ministering in small ways in that environment, and it is my challenge to discover how to do that in a meaningful way.

5.Reproducing Spiritual Generations is gloriously demonstrated in the four-generational admonition from Paul to Timothy. Our ministry of multiplication begins with passing on the truth we have received and then equipping the hearers to become disciples by investing deeply, consistently, relationally, and with love. This is possible only from a transparent and accessible life.

Reading one short entry each day from Five Traits of a Christ-follower is like spending a month being challenged in the core competencies of the faith by having little conversations with someone who has walked the path before. David picked up his five smooth stones so that they could be launched by a sling. By the grace of God, it will be Christ-like character that launches the believer into a life of enthusiasm, productivity, and embodiment of the spirit of Jesus in every season of life.

This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 : Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Five Traits of a Christ-Follower is edited by Doug Nuenke, with writing contributions from many Christian leaders, speakers, ministers, and theologians. The book is slightly larger than pocket-sized with just over 70 pages. The theme of this book hinges on a simple spiritual truth of becoming a Christian in action by emphasizing prayer, witnessing, fellowship, and the Word of God, all with Christ at the center. If you have been grappling with how to live out the Christian life more fully, this short book lays out practical ways in which you can become a better disciple yourself, while also making other disciples for Christ.

This book takes you through five traits of someone who can truly say they follow Christ. These five traits are: walking with Jesus, knowing and living the scriptures, participating in community, engaging with those who dont know Christ, and reproducing spiritual generations. Each trait in the book has selections from various Christian leaders who share a Bible verse and a personal story or example of how to live out that specific trait. At the end of each short devotion, are questions pertaining to how you see yourself in light of these traits, and also questions that will challenge the way you live life going forward.

I enjoyed the simplicity of this read. This book would be well suited to give to someone who is a new believer in Christ, or anyone who wants to live a more fully abandoned life of surrender to the Lord and His discipleship training.

*I was given a complimentary copy of this book by Tyndale Publishing House in exchange for a review.

It seems as though life these days is full of distractions, detours and delays, for Christians in particular. Though we start each day with the desire to do well and please God, every night we go to bed beaten down and discouraged by the course of the day. Occasionally a great day comes along and we rejoice, but in our hearts we seem to predict that it is temporary and that tomorrow will yield yet another course of challenges waiting to chew me up and spit me out. It isn't enough to just squeak by or live day by day holding on as you feel your grip weaken. There has got to be more to my life, things i must be missing. That is where a handy little daily devotional resource book can help. It gets us back to the basics of our relationship with the Lord and reminds us, as it is so titled, 5 traits of a Christ follower. Five Traits of a Christ Follower - By: Doug Nuenke, Jerry Bridges

The 5 traits are; walking with Jesus, Knowing and living the scriptures, participating in community, engaging with those who don't know Christ, and reproducing spiritual generations.

Each of these traits are discussed by individuals in a daily and very practical manner. Each devotion addresses a specific area within these 5 traits and offer advice, encouragement, and challenge. It is a reminder of what the Christian life is all about, our Relationship with God. All else falls in place when we are walking as we should and following our King. I must admit, when my friends at Tyndale House Publishers sent me a complimentary copy for my review I was expecting a book by Jerry Bridges. What I got was a devotional to address my wandering and worn life. I would recommend this book to Christians and non-Christians alike. To Christians who are new to the family or brothers and sisters who have been in the family for decades it is worth the time spent. For 5 minutes a day it is an investment that is sure to return much more than the small cost of the book.

I've been looking for a devotional for a while. I haven't quite come across the right one.

I saw this little book (literally, it fits in your palm almost haha!) and thought it was a new book by Jerry Bridges. Yes, I didn't actually read the description thoroughly enough. Hahaha! Come to find out it has a forward by Jerry but it's actually a devotional book.

But let me tell you, I have not at all been disappointed with this devotional, "Five Traits of a Christ Follower".

This little book is sectioned off in (can you guess?) 5 different trait areas. They each talk about a different trait to become more like Christ. Each section has about 6 different devotionals written by different people. They are very short and quick to read, but the words written are written so beautifully that the impact of the devotional is not lost at all by the lack of pages.